Legend of Korra: Adventures of Lim
by 4fireking
Summary: Korra was vacationing with her girlfriend Asami when she was told she would have to teach a boy with new bending powers how to water bend. She soon learns its not just water bending she has to teach him. With new enemies and her girlfriend Asami fighting with her can Korra teach Lim to be the bender he wants to be?
1. Chapter 1

**I hope the people I know and consider friends on this sight are reading this story because if they are I want them to ask me questions. Yes, there will be OC's in this story. I want to be a real writer someday so I will continue to write made up characters so I can see which characters people enjoy. This chapter is short but people only want at least one thousand words in a chapter. Review, please.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra. It and Avatar the Last Airbender are the number two shows on Cartoon Network. Guess which one is number one.

 **Vacation of Korra and Asami: Day Three**

After spending so long saving the world from whatever it threw at them, Korra and Asami's little vacation felt like a patch of heaven. They got to go to a new forest with only cute little animals, climbed tress with purple furred monkey's, and went swimming in a pool with red and white scales fishes to cool off.

To end the day off, the Sato heir and the Avatar packed a basket full of a blanket and food for a picnic, if they could only find a proper place to sit down. They settled their picnic preferences and found a spot under a shady tree. While Korra was distracted with setting the food down, Asami grinned at the moment of weakness. Time to show the Avatar who was really the one in charge.

She rushed the Avatar with blinding speed. Before Korra could even cry out in surprise, she had her pinned to the ground so she wouldn't move, laughing with her joyful voice in victory. Even though she had Korra pinned down, it was only for a moment. She managed to reverse the situation by shoving the Sato girl to the side so she could get on the top and secure Asami's hands.

Asami groaned at her misfortune. "Korra, if you knew what's coming for you, you'd let me up in a heartbeat."

Korra raised an eyebrow at the threat, as empty as it may be. "What do you mean Asami?"

Asami smirked "Korra my dear, it's really simple. My word is basically command here, so you better let me up or you'll get the punishment of a lifetime."

Korra stared upward in a thoughtful manner before shrugging. "I don't know, I like my chances…"

A poor choice on the Avatar's part.

Asami slipped under Korra in a blink of an eye. She grabbed Korra where her chest was and started squeezing. Instead of being irritated or even hurt at the act, Korra was laughing, maybe it was because Asami was laughing too. But that wasn't the worse of the punishment. Oh no, Asami decided to enact the second portion of her plan.

"That's enough!" Korra laughed when Asami decided to tickle her. Her tickles were fast, relentless, and felt like a polar bear dog's nose. "That's enough punishment!"

Asami smirked at the avatar "Korra you think your bending can save you from punishment, then you're in for a world of hurt. I'm in control here, meaning if you try to use your bending without me knowing you will be in serious trouble. You will have to face the consequences, no bother trying to escape."

Korra frowned at what Asami had said, that was quite new coming from Asami. Korra looked up and smiled. "I have you right now, don't I? I can bend the elements as much as I want."

A light-hearted slap across the cheek was her reward for insurrection. Korra rubbed her cheek in mild shock. It strike didn't hurt at all (she's definitely felt worse) but it was so shocking of the Asami she knew before everything that's happened to them. It was a major wake-up call of how much that's changed.

Korra shook away her thoughts and immediately began to make plans of retaliating, but before they could settle their problem...the bearer of bad news had arrived.  
Mako. He was the only one who didn't have a problem with ruining her day, but still, it was really awkward. Their brief relationship was not forgotten, she was the alpha to his omega. The fact that both Korra and Asami dated, eventually broke up, and settled with each other made the moment very...awkward, to put things mildly.

" Korra," he said. " I hope you and Asami had fun during your vacation, because it's gonna have to end today. The world needs its avatar again."

Korra groaned obnoxiously. "When can an Avatar have a break?"

When would people understand that she was the avatar? Amon, the blood bender who could take people's bending away, couldn't stop her. Her own uncle and the Dark Spirit couldn't match her tenacity and awesome power. Zaheer and his gang couldn't compare, and lastly, the the Great Uniter Kuuvira couldn't stop her even with her spirit weapon.

Korra had mastered the elements and held perfect harmony with Raava, something Avatar Aang didn't even know about! Whatever came next was gonna be sent home crying and covered in bruises.

The arrogant Avatar pushed herself up and reached for the sky. "Well, at least I had three days off."

Asami didn't respond, instead sighed softly.

"What's wrong?" She asked with concern. "Are you upset about the vacation, we can always go on another trip."

"No that's not it, it's something else." The brunette responded.

Korra blushed lightly, she was upset about who would be the dominant one in the relationship. Korra secretly didn't really care about that type of thing, she just enjoyed teasing Asami. Heck, why did there have to be an alpha in a relationship, was it that much of a big deal to her?

"We'll talk about this later, for now, let's go back to Republic City and see what's going on." Korra insisted, holding her hand out.

Asami grinned and grasped the hand that was held out to her. The Avatar held her hand tightly and easily pulled her up from the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**I would like to thank riptidefirebends and wabby109 for their help when I was trying to write this chapter. I would be lying if I said all they did was edit my chapter. In this chapter you can't expect to see Lim, which is weird because his name is in the title, but when he appears it will be sweet. Thank you and please review.**

XXX

The Avatar and the Sato Heir walked into the dining area at Air Temple Island. It felt like that they hadn't been here in forever, but at the same time they both felt as if the vacation wasn't long enough.

Upon showing up and interrupting the others and their dinner, numerous pairs of eyes drifted to them, belonging to none other than Opal, Bolin, Tenzin, Ikki, Jinora, Meelo, Pema, and Rohan.

Silence suspended on the area for a small period of time until, that is, Bolin exclaimed, "Hey Korra, hey Asami! You're finally back."

Opal smiled at Korra and Asami, resisting the slight urge to roll her eyes at Bolin. "How was your trip?" She asked, folding her hands together and leaning her chin against it, head tilted slightly.

Korra grinned at the eldest female Air Bender. "It was amazing." A little short though, she wanted to add, but decided against it. Some parts of her really enjoyed being back, but that was before she remembered what Mako had initially said to break up their little vacation. 'The world needed their Avatar again.'

Dinner had passed long ago, and Korra was tired; it was dark out now. During their supper, Korra only found out about a kid with a supposedly unique power. She turned over to her side on her bed. She heard that the kid was a bender, most likely a water bender, she was told. What did that even mean, 'most likely'? Korra shook her head at that. Well, she'll find out tomorrow.

She just needed to fall asleep, and then, Asami and her would travel to locate the Bender. Just as her light blue eyes fluttered closed, she witnessed the brief sound of the door open. She rose to her feet, arms up. Who she met was not who she suspected: Asami.

"I couldn't sleep," She began, walking over to where Korra was. "At least, not after we left things unresolved."

With that, her mouth had quirked up a bit in a smug smirk as she dove for Korra. Not expecting the assault, Korra fell to the ground with a soft cry of surprise. Asami resumed her attack on Korra's side, easily exploiting her weak spots.

"Asami, if you couldn't already tell, I'm tired, so could you please go to sleep or something?" Korra said in between her held back laughter.

"I did say something about punishment, didn't I?" Asami teased, smiling in triumph.

Korra couldn't help but laugh and squirm around. "Stop." She breathed out, but Asami refused to quit. Any other time Korra would partake in the teasing, but right now was not the time. They both had to be well rested, since they didn't know how dangerous this 'power' the water bender possessed. Korra didn't think the bender would pose a threat, but she didn't need to underestimate him.

Asami sat back as Korra pushed herself up to catch her breath. "Not now, Asami." She wondered why she was getting the cold shoulder now. After a minute of silence, she sat next to the Avatar. "We need to wait until after we finish what has to be done, we aren't on vacation at the moment." Korra added. Yeah, she didn't even expect herself to be the responsible one either.

Asami studied her face. By the looks of it, she was serious. "Korra-"

"No," Korra snapped, standing abruptly. "I need to rest. As the Avatar, I know my energy will drain fast, so please, could you leave and let me sleep already?"

Asami stood slowly, her emerald eyes narrowing. "What's wrong with you?" She whispered in disbelief.

Korra's eyes widened. "There's nothing wrong with me. Wh... What's wrong with you?!"

Asami was trying to remain calm, but Korra's yelling was getting to her. "Stop yelling, would you, I can hear you from here."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm lou-"

"You always were."She didn't know how long she could control her temper, seeing how Korra was being unreasonably defensive.

Korra sputtered. "Y-You...so, that's what you think of me, huh?" She clenched her fists together. "Well, guess what, I don't think that this going to work out."

Asami blinked at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Korra cut her off. "No, I think we're done having this conversation."

Asami glared at her. "Fine! You and Mako seemed to have hit it off with each other before, wouldn't be much of a difference if he went with you instead."

"You know what? I will!" Korra responded with a shout.

Asami stormed out of Korra's room, slamming her own door shut once she was inside.

The next morning, Asami watched Korra and Mako ride away on Naga, from her room. She couldn't believe Korra would actually abandon her after a fight that wasn't worth anything. The fight was stupid and uncalled for, but obviously Korra didn't think so. Neither of them were not in a good mood when Mako and Korra left that morning.

They didn't even say farewell.

Korra began to take off, feeling someone's eye's burning holes into her back. Truthfully, she did feel a bit guilty, but it was Asami's fault, seeing how she didn't stop when Korra had asked her to.

A little while after being on Naga in Republic City, Korra realized where she went wrong and regretted it. _'God, why did I have to be so stupid and do that!'_ Korra thought to herself.

Mako was sitting behind Korra, and had no clue as to what he should say. He didn't want to say anything stupid that would get himself reared-off of Naga, so he stayed silent, allowing them to keep their thoughts to themselves.

"Mako...I think we should go back. I said something without thinking, and I really regret it." Korra spoke up.

Mako knew a little bit of the reason as to why Korra wanted to go back because he had gotten to know her a lot better over the time they had spent together. He realized that Korra didn't even really want his confirmation on whether or not it was okay to go back because she would've gone back with or without him.

"Okay." Mako replied. He didn't want Korra to suffer for the same mistakes that he had made in the past with both Korra and Asami.

Korra directed Naga to go back to Air Temple Island, silently hoping that she was still there.

Korra jumped off Naga and went up to the first person she saw: Tenzin. "Have you seen Asami? I really need to talk to her." She asked.

"Away from here to-"

"Yeah! She said she needed to check up on something at the Future Industries factories," Meelo cut in.

"Are you sure? She wouldn't just go away on vacation if she had something important to check up on." She deducted. She made her way to Asami's room, everyone else following suit.

Upon reaching the room, they discovered a huge mess. "Maybe she was looking for something..." Bolin thought aloud.

"No, some things are broken in here. Asami wouldn't trash the place on purpose, and even then, she would have cleaned it as soon as she could out of courtesy. From the angle of most of the destruction," Mako stated, pointing at a spot by the window. "This is where signs of struggle appear...it seems to me that Asami's been kidnapped."


	3. Chapter 3

**I would like to thank fairysdarkestnight for helping me create this chapter and I'm sorry if it's not as long as some of you would want it to be. I'm just happy it's finished and I can rest now until you readers want to see chapter 4.**

XXX

Korra dropped to her knees in the middle of the room. No tears fell from her eyes, but there was anger and fear boiling under her skin. " I can't help but feel as if this is my fault… If I hadn't fought with her, if I'd just taken that extra moment to -"

"Korra." Mako reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. We'll find her."

She shoved him away from her, flames dancing around her clenched fists. "Don't touch me!"

Bolin slowly backed away, his hands up in the air. "Maybe it would be best if we just leave her alone for a bit… let her cool her head some…. I rather like not being charred to a crisp."

Sighing, Mako brought his arm around his brother's shoulder and guided him out of the destroyed room. With a quick glance over his shoulder at Korra, he shook his head slightly before closing the door behind him.

Korra stood alone in the center of the room, chest heaving and fists clenched in rage. Whoever had done this would pay. No one messed with the Avatar.

Her first instinct was to take off on Naga and search the world for Asami. She would find her, no matter what it took. But she knew that without any leads, she would be searching in vain. She could be anywhere, taken by anyone. And running around blind wouldn't do anyone any good.

With a sigh, Korra raked her fingers through her hair and opened the door. She couldn't stand to be in that room any longer with the way it was. It tore her apart to see the evidence of her failure.

The cool breeze on the island helped cool her head a bit. It was enough to calm the part of her that wanted to take action without any sort of plan. She'd already learned the hard way that things didn't always work out for the best when she did that. But still, Asami -

"Korra, come back inside. It's starting to get dark and we don't want you to catch a cold."

She snorted at Tenzin's words. "I'll be fine. I'm the Avatar, after all. I won't be brought down by something as simple as a cold."

The airbender stepped closer to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be okay. We'll find her. We've been through worse and come through together. Just don't forget that we're by your side. All of us."

Korra said nothing as she watched as the sun sunk lower in the sky, staining the cerulean blue pink and orange and red. Tenzin waited until the last sliver slipped below the horizon before nodding to her and turning back to the temple. She knew he meant well, but she would be fine on her own. She always had been.

When Asami woke up, she was alone in a grimy underground cell. Her body ached, and she was sure she was bruised in multiple areas. Scratches covered her arms and neck, though some had already crusted over with blood with others were still bleeding profusely.

Where am I? And what happened?

No one was around, and Asami was rather grateful for that, though a little irritated that they thought so little of her.

I bet they'd have a thousand guard on me if I was the Avatar instead of some nonbender.

She sighed, then winced at the sharp pain in her ribs the action caused. Her head was fuzzy and she couldn't remember what had caused her to be in such a dingy place.

Thinking about it made her head hurt even more, so she closed her eyes and laid her head on her knees. She sighed and desperately wished she was back at home. If she ever got out of that cell, she would make sure that Korra -

Korra!

She would get her out of there. She had to. Even if Korra was mad after their fight, she wouldn't just leave her there to rot, would she?

But with the way she left so suddenly… does she even know I'm gone? It's not like we said anything to each other after that. And she's probably too busy being the Avatar to even notice I'm gone.

Asami sighed and leaned back, gently resting her head against a slimy stone wall. Her face twisted in disgust, but she didn't know how long she was going to be there for, and her back had started to ache. Besides, it wasn't as if there was anyone there she'd want to impress.

Closing her eyes once more, Asami drifted off into a restless sleep.

"Korra. Korra! KORRA!" Korra startled as Mako's voice finally reached her through her daze. "You're needed back at the temple."

She kept her face turned away from Mako. "I'll be there in a minute."

Shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other, Mako rubbed the back of his neck before speaking again. "It's urgent. It can't really wait a minute."

Korra pushed away from the railing that she'd been leaning on and glared at the firebender. "I said I'll be there in a minute. I don't really care if the Avatar is needed right now or not."

Grasping the bridge of his nose between his fingers, Mako let out a frustrated sigh. "Korra, just get to the temple. We don't have time to stand here arguing." He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Korra behind, her mouth open in shock.

"Whatever. Who needs him anyway?" After another moment, however, Korea sighed in defeat and turned towards the temple. Even if she didn't like it, she needed to do something, or else she might decide to rub off in search of Asami.

As she entered the temple, everyone turned to look at her. A deep scowl was on Tenzin's face at Korra's late arrival. But he didn't comment. He only shook his head and gestured for her to sit down.

"Asami's kidnappers sent us a message."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello readers. I finally updated this chapter. It took a while which is unforgivable to some but more of a thank you to other readers. So here's this chapter, and no I'm not going to explain all of it which some cartoons did and it was stupid. Your probably wondering what the note said in the last chapter. Probably won't see it this chapter. What you will see is the title character Lim. Originally I wanted him to be a prisoner of the bandits who was saved by Korra and becomes her water bender pupil. He is now like Jet. I should change my summary of the story later but for now please enjoy what I've been working on by myself.**

XXX

Before the four nations became unified by the Fire Lord losing his fire bending by Aang there was no hope. What gave the nations hope was one fire bender who turned against his father and sided with the Avatar. This is said that even water benders can turn against other water bending, bending is something their born with but how its used is by their choice of living with it. The bandits who took Asami were water benders and water trapped inside a starfish stubbed barrel brought by a water bender would stop them.

The name of this sole water bender was Lim. He had nothing against the people working as bandits as he would not take the life of a single one of them. He just knew being alive the only thing that helped him sleep was freeing slaves. Lim was light brown with black hair the color of a black marker. His eyes were amber, his nose was very small, and he was just going through growing hair on his arms that were covered by his dark garbs. His clothes kind of looked like the same ones the Blue Spirit once wore. Lim only had a loyal animal, a Zebra-Giraffe, named Cheesewire. On his faithful pet was his big bowl and it was full of water. Thanks to rope it was also stuck on his back-he would need water when he gets his pet to charge at the bandits.

The bandits base was a dirt road filled with bandits who liked to bungee down on ropes with their weapons. The water bending bandits were inside the base obviously keeping the water close by. Bandits were not to be taken likely especially when they have their own bases. There was a risk Lim could be wounded by the bandits to death, maybe he would die in his sleep and maybe he would spirits telling him he was eternally safe from harm. The point is he's had enough of a hard journey trying to stop people who take other people to give up now.

 **" We have to turn back now dad. What does this one woman mean to you?"**

 **" I am not afraid. She does not deserve to be their prisoner. The right path you can make Lim is that quick second you want to do what's right."**

Lim would ask his dad when he returns home if he proved he is just like him now. And thus Cheesewire gait through the road to the bandit's base.

XXX

" Do you think we should visit the Great Divide?" A bandit asked his friend who was also a bandit. Their job was to guard the door.

" That big place that causes nothing but pointless bickering and is full of creatures that will devour you just for bringing food? Your out of your mind if that's where you want to go through on your vacation?" His friend said.

" But once you go through the worst experience everything else is-"

The bandits stopped after seeing a Zebra-Giraffe saddled with a drinking bowl on top instead of a rider trot towards them. The bandits hearts froze when a man leaped on the road from a ground very far below. He was a water bender. He was fast at controlling water sending two clouds of water at eyes. After he did that he sprinted towards them. He grabbed their heads and banged them together as hard as he could.

" Go to sleep. If I see you two again I'll do what fire benders wanted to do to Avatar Aang."

Lim stole a pair of keys one of the guards had on his belt. He tossed them up and down just because it amused him. After he was amused enough he looked for a key that hit the hole in the door and unlocked the door.

" We made it this far Cheesewire. We now face the surprise attacks from these bandits."

Lim ran with Cheesewire through the open door. Running took a lot of hard work to reach the stamina to make it near the top of the road where the door to the base was. But all that running felt like a little jog considering the effort it would take to take down all the bandits. Speaking of them, they copied what Lim did to beat those bandits and bunged down and up the side of the road.

" Is this some kind of lame joke or a dumb haiku that's trying to be funny?" One of the bandits shouted.

Lim waited until a bandit with a rope tied around his torso and a fireplace poker with a small stub tried to get him, he did a one hundred and eighty degree spin dodging the weapon to the side of Cheesewire. He jumped on Cheesewire and grabbed his water bowl. Next he used his water bending skills to turn the water into ice.

All the bandits were using their ropes to attack in the air where it would be hard to hit them. They didn't anticipate Lim removing all the ice in the bowl or him sliding his hand against the bowl sending disks of frozen ice. The ice was fast enough to cut through their ropes and removed their ability to attack in the air.

After they all fell down and hurt themselves a little one bandit stood up. He seemed to be their leader.

" We can still beat him if we charge at him at the same time. All together!"

The bandits roared finding that idea to be brilliant. All at once they charged at Lim who was still standing next to his Donkey-Giraffe Cheesewire. It would be a bad idea to fight all of them with no water bending to help him.

" You know what to do Cheesewire and I can only say it will be hard running away from all these guys. We shall see each other again."

Lim followed his only sensible plan and jumped off the road. The bandits thought he was just giving up his own life instead of dying by their weapons, but he had quick hands and he lassoed it around one bandits brawny hand. What happened nearly pulled the bandit off the road with him as Lim started swinging down there. Fortunately his bandit friends held onto him and pulled. Every time they pulled him back it seemed he was being dragged forward until the momentum of him being dragged helped Lim bungee jump onto the road ahead of them. If only one of the bandits removed the rope around his arm.

" I'll kill that water bender!" A bandit shouted. " No, I mean I'll kill that gigantic pain in the neck!"

Cheesewire trotted away from the bandits in their distraction. He now hoped Lim could finish his mission as safely as he could.

XXX

The front door leading into the bandits base wasn't unguarded. There were only two bandits guarding it but they were standing on two towers high above the ground with bows and arrows. The bows were held by them for so long they were practically glued to their hands and the arrows were in a barrel. Their job they both found extremely boring. That was of course until a person they knew wasn't one of their bandit friends ran to the front door and stopped. He tried not laughing at them as he looked at the archer bandits as fools.

" No one person has ever made it through these gates! What luck you may have to beat all the men we had down there it ends with two arrows in you!"

Together the two bandits pulled the strings of their arrows back helping them aim their arrows and they fired the arrows right at Lim. Lim didn't have his water bending to freeze the arrows in a block of ice. When it looked like the arrows would pierce his heart he pulled out Cheesewire's water bowl hidden behind his back. The arrows went through the bowl but stopped halfway through. A mystery to Lim was if there were arrows that could go through shields all the way and go through their entire bodies? Right now he just removed the arrowheads and the shaft of the arrows he used to throw the bowl at them. They were both taken down and the water bowl returned to him.

' _All that remains is the water-bending bandits inside this big fortress.'_ Lim thought.

He walked up to it and tried opening the door. It was locked. Lim didn't count on all the bandits needing keys to get into this fortress, but it only figured a big operation like this only allowed bandits that worked there inside. He tried the keys he still had from the guards at the first door. He changed the key he would use and fitted it through the lock. He turned it and it opened which means he could now walk in.

He thought walking in would giving him a chance to rest a little and take a breather. He was dead wrong for inside the base were four bandits waiting for him. They all had barrels filled to the top with water. They were the water bending bandits who push so much water into a person that they fly off the base's long height and plummet to their deaths. That plan wouldn't work against Lim unless he wasn't as good of a water bender as he claimed to become...All it took was years and years of practice.

 **Young Lim couldn't even get a piece of rice size water out of the water in the bucket his father tested him with. He tried hard and he was sweating to actually reach the level where he could move water. Then a voice inside him made him laugh on why he should settle on just being a good bender.**

 **" Enormous! I want to have enormous power as a water bender! Enough to create a tsunami of water that can drown a kingdom!"**

 **Lim was smacked across the face by his own father. As he rubbed his cheek from the red mark his father gave him he saw him staring down preparing the longest lesson he wanted to instill on his son who said something taboo, no bender should ever speak that way about bending.**

 **" I get you want to be like everyone else and be a good water bender but never say you want all that power just to drown a kingdom. I was born a water bender and so were you and if you are anything like the son I know you can be you will save water bending for when you truly want to help people. Listen to that word very carefully. Only use it to help someone."**

The barrels exploded. All four burst apart as all four water benders were bending water. Together they made a giant bubble of water. It was made so they could shoot enough water to push Lim out of their base and have him fall to his death, like falling off a long waterfall. They blast managed to hit him. What happened next was he repelled the water away from him until it was divided into two parts. Two semi-complete bubbles were floating in the air. Soon he pulled them back to him. He wanted to touch the bubbles. He put all five of his fingernails on both hands into the bubbles turning them into giant snowballs. The four bandits were petrified at their only water balls being turned into giant snowballs.

" Don't just give up yet!" One shouted. " We are still water benders. The moment those things go near us we'll turn them into water and then ice balls again and use them on this cheeky water bender who believes he can take down our whole base."

Lim had a different plan but it did involve using the giant snowballs. He moved his hands slowly and then let them go out the base's door. What he did surprised the water benders. He could easily just beat them with his fists if they didn't have any more water around; his plain was almost that but he had a better idea. His control over the snowballs was still there and before the water bending bandits knew it he sent the snowballs flying towards them before they could raise their arms. They were crushed by the snowballs, but he didn't go fast enough to crush their whole bodies, just fast enough to knock them over and then roll the snowballs away from them.

" I could say something stupid about how you shouldn't underestimate a water bender like me, but I think what matters more is waiting for more of your men to show up and do the same thing to them. Either that or save the people you bandits have as blackmail tools."


	5. Chapter 5

**Merry Christmas to all my readers who celebrate Christmas. There will be no Christmas chapters in this story and the next update will be after Christmas but it's good to sing those two words loud for all to hear. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was two pages on a piece of paper, and it took a little bit of editing before posting.**

XXX

Not all of the bandits stayed in their base attempting to fight the one knocking their comrades around and freeing prisoners. The bandits had their own waterfall in the back door of their base. By water bending they made a bridge helping them get away. There was a chance the water bender trying to free the prisoners would discover their escape plan and follow them to their rendezvous, but he was only one water bender and it was faster bending water with the help of eight water benders.

They made it to the forest they use as a torture place for captive fire benders. They have a door to the underground and keep them in cages neutralizing their bending. It worked like trapping earth benders in a steel ship with coal, water benders in a prison deprived of water or ice, and it worked better then tying a bender's limbs. They knew which ways to go where sources of water were around; some of their prisoners were water benders without any hope because of harsh conditions they put them through.

Asami Sato was forced to talk ahead of the three other prisoners who are meek and scared villagers on their way to be sold away from their homes and their families, especially their loved ones. Asami was the only one who still had hope of escape. With one leg she would fight all the bandits. Not only would she kick so hard their legs would snap she would steal the knife in his pockets. Before she could take that risky plan with hope and courage she heard something make a roaring sound over her head.

" Sir, what's a Flying Bison doing here? And who is that on the bison's back?"

Asami perked her head up high with hope and confidence and it was a beacon to her with the person her love Korra on a Flying Bison with Tenzin and Bolin. Korra started moving the way she did when air bending. Sure enough a lash of wind was armed at the bandit walking in the back and he was knocked into the trunk of a tree.

" I know her!" A bandit yelled pointing at the girl on the bison. " She's the Avatar!"

" And she's here to save our prisoners!" Another bandit yelled.

The bandits weren't close to a place with water. A bender out of their element against a bender able to use their element. Five of the remaining seven bandits unsheathed their knives ready to throw them at Korra instead of running away both as cowards and making a better decision then the five outmatched bandits. The two bandits were not fast enough to flee Korra, her airbender teacher, and her best friend who landed on the ground. He prepared to earth bend. After completing his preparations he made earth move the same way Toph used it travelling, but used it to make large dirt try knocking the five bandits down.

The five bandits dropped on the ground. They dropped purposefully. Their plan was to wait until Bolin's dirt was close. After it did get close they rolled to the right side and the big moving dirt chasing them back into an ordinary grassy ground. The two bandits were dumbfounded by this keeping their eyes on the ground without any idea they were falling into Bolin's hands. A few quick preparations of what Toph and his girlfriend taught him and they were both sucked into the ground unable to move their arms or legs.

" Someone please get us out of here!" One of the trapped bandits cried.

Tendon was escorting people now free of being the bandits' prisoners on the Flying Bison he was now taking control of.

" That senile old man!" A bandit yelled. " I care nothing in this world except loyal comrades and yet I wouldn't leave two teenagers against five men who want their prisoners back!"

" Tenzin cares more about saving other people's live then fighting," Korra informed the bandits. " He doesn't feel the same way about you five which is why your left with me!"

Tenzin found everyone including Asami. While Tenzin murmured about how he wasn't crazy or an old man a small smile grew on Asami's lips. Her feelings of being rescued; feeling safe, not minding the violence Korra had for her kidnappers and also relieved when the moon rose she could hold Korra's warm hands...it would be soon.

XXX

There is no choice who the Avatar is reborn as, just answer a dad's question: Do you want to spend your life with a woman? In Lim's past he awaited the day he could fulfill his families duties. A stranger once walked up to Lim's four hundred year old grandfather and gave him a home and warm room because a coup of his wiseman stripped him of his palace and wealth.

' _**Be rich if you can make it that far but there was a moment life seemed meaningless to you. You supposed it was possible to get back up the ladder and didn't pretend you couldn't do it. Every generation you produce must build something to help them feel the same way I mustered you to feel.'**_

Something strange happened after Lim saved the villagers. He met a man among them who was yelling at him nothing will save them from the pain and shadows. All Lim thought about was how to get into higher bases by using a card full of water. So the first thing he did was move to his home for blueprints he needed. He realized though someone was waiting for something he had.

" Cheesewire." Lim carried fruit in the shape of pears only blue instead of green. He called them Water Bender's Best Cheesewire Treat. He kept the stash on Cheesewire's back with other things his companion carried. " We make a great team Cheesewire," Lim said after Cheesewire munched the delicious treat clean off his hand. " I'll keep learning to use water bending better and you keep taking care of me with my plans."

Cheesewire couldn't talk. If only he could talk then he could tell his companion he loved their adventures and he certainly liked the treats Lim handed him after their battles. Suddenly, Cheesewire flinched. The Giraffe Donkey trembled seeing a Saber Bear moving its four giant paws helping it crawl with pride towards Lim.

Cheesewire did the thing that saved his friend, he grabbed the water benders collar and tossed him on his back. " What's gotten into you Cheesewire?!" Lim shouted at the surprise of being thrown on the Giraffe Donkey's back. " I'm not in a battle with—"

Lim felt many cold shivers run down his spine from the horror of a Saber Bear walking towards them. Lim couldn't water bend anything at the creature.

" Cheesewire..." Lim almost panicked trying to tell Cheesewire a plan that could save both their lives.

It wasn't courage that helped him gain the courage he needed to escape, but knowing Cheesewire shared his great fear of dying here. He cared too much about life and his friend to be eaten by a carnivore too fat to outrun his friend.

" Let's lead it to some water."

Cheesewire imagined Lim was taking a strong hold of reins found in both their imaginations as he moved to the forest. Cheesewire and Lim could hear the rage the Saber Bear let out before going as fast as it could to get them. Cheesewire knew how big of a ferocious beast the Saber Bear was but no animal could beat his companion when he was near water.

Lim tried his hardest to spot a pool, a waterfall, even a little puddle. To his surprise and utter disbelief Cheesewire ran past seven men who could only be more bandits from the base he saved the villagers from; they were all groaning, moaning in pain and some holding their heads over something they felt. Lim would have to alert the military in Republic City how they were here. At the moment Lim couldn't alert anyone because a wild Saber Bear was chasing him and Cheesewire trying to eat them.

Something told Lim he was in luck because water benders would keep the forest full of water.

A beautiful pond on ground with a waterfall filling it up. Lim kept urging Cheesewire to run into it. The volume was big enough for Cheesewire to drown in; Lim kept his feet on the Giraffe Donkey's back as he let the flow of his feet and hands, a water bending technique he learned and could utilize as long as he was standing on something, he bended a rising geyser of water that rose and lifted him and Cheesewire to higher ground.

The Saber Bear who was below them making loud angry barks the likes of which was it demanding the two visitors of its land to come down so he could swallow every last part of their bodies starting with their heads was about to face Lim at his best. Before the Saber Bear at a high point was Lim ready to come down and deal enough pain to frighten it away. It was just the two of them and no Cheesewire because fighting a carnivore against a herbivore would hurt his friend. He had a boatload of bending techniques to hurt the Saber Bear. Lim first solidified water to stand on and bended it out like a bed down to low point.

The Saber Bear charged at him. On his water bed Lim used his bending to make a whip he hit the Saber Bear's left claw with.

" You should have run away when I found water."

Lim bended his arms and waved them as water moved out of the lake. The Saber Bear underestimated the water Lim bended as it weaved its claws ferociously. It was too bad for the Saber Bear as Lim trapped its feet with the water, dragged him down to a low surface, and then let water erupt from the lake. If Lim wasn't trying to hurt the Saber Bear for all the chasing it did to him and Cheesewire he would let it off with a warning. Lim however used a tentacle technique to have the Saber Bear trapped in the air.

" I hope you like the water."

The Saber Bear went splash into the water as Lim did a bending dance. And then over and over again he made the water circulate as a round rock hitting the Saber Bear's face and almost knocking the wind out of it as its eyes burned.

" You will survive! You will only live because every animal reminds me of Cheesewire except only one of them can be my companion!"

Lim raised the Saber Bear over the water as a rag doll and he made it a rag doll upside down. Unable to blood bend he needed a way of water bending to control the bodies and limbs of his opponent. He constricted water around the Saber Bear's giant paws and its very big hind legs. While it was unable to get away he launched water up—enough to engross every part of it to its fingernails—showing it what the experience of drowning was before using his bending to explode the water around it. Those who weren't water benders called this technique waterboarding.


	6. Chapter 6

**The ending is anticlimactic. Now that I confessed that I would like to say it took me five days to write this and five hundred words are missing from it. Those parts were with Korra and Asami but now you have to wait other chapters to see them together. Thank you.**

XXX

Lim changed his ways from moving the Saber-Bear around to having it drink water he was water bending feeding it. Lim really wanted to do something his father explained to be opposing the freedom a wild animal could have. Even if Lim was to execute the Saber-Bear it shouldn't be done without keeping the animal calm.

"Don't let that beating earlier get to you." Lim said. "I'm sure you're still a tough animal around here. You just didn't think of the things I had to fight to protect them—my friends especially Cheesewire."

Cheesewire was happy to be praised by Lim so he nudged his big head at his shoulder. Lim held Cheesewire's face and gently stroke it down. Cheesewire felt happy thanks to that nice touch Lim seemed to have with him. The Saber-Bear left them alone now to continue on with their business.

The next human it saw though it would attack by surprise.

XXX

Lim was back in his home and Cheesewire was safe in his stable again. He was playing a house game in the dirt. He already drew rectangles with words of what part of the house they were suppose to be. There was a sad reason Lim made these things…his home didn't have anything a real house does. He was half-starved because he didn't keep any food around.

He didn't sit on chairs like other people had when they wanted to own a chair nor was he in possession of a book. He even wrote couples' bedroom despite the obvious fact he wasn't romantically with anyone right now.

He was just playing with his doll the way he would control himself if he was married until a Rooster-Hawk appeared on his window. This Rooster-Hawk had a blue print and a letter attached to its back. Lim knew how much work it was for the bird to carry that message so he fed it some bird seed he kept in a feeding bag.

"Enjoy little buddy." While feeding, it he was able to slip off the blue prints and the letter. The Rooster-Hawk took its leave and remembering the cage it liked to lounge around in would return to its master.

 **Dear Lim,**

 **I have sent you the blue prints of a bandit base filled with fire benders. Their leader is a very mysterious fire bender. Some say he can make you see things so earth shatteringly powerful even the most fearless people will tremble. Do not fear this leader as he is in Republic City that our intel managed to find. When you free the prisoners look for one young girl whose face reminds you of a pig style Lion-Turtle.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Mr. Hot Water**

XXX

Making water kites was easy. Lim started by using large posters for the bottom of them. He used glue and bo staff's cut in half for the poster. Next was using another poster shaped like a beak. Before he could make the kites fly he put some bowls of water on the four sides of the poster. Now he had to make more of the same kites which he did using the same steps that made the first kite. After some rigorous work, he had enough kites in the air.

Lim walked to the same place he filled his bowls with water—this time he would use the river to elevate his feet off the ground and into the sky where his kites were. He bended the way he remembered when he was young and trying to use his bending to make animal shapes. Once he bended something up high it once took two fingers to keep his bending in a stasis. He swam to a lower section of the water and poked his head out of the water. It was his plan to launch out of the water and land on one of the kites.

" Here's to freedom of everyone whether their benders or weren't born benders. I promise to keep people safe unless you enslave someone."

He blasted out of his water like a torpedo. His aim helped him land on a kite and manage to not fall off it. The kite was able to support his weight, but he made a small flaw where his foot could crumple the poster apart. He bended all the water out of the jars with quick and precise movements. At last he bended the water to go straight across to another kite and solidify long enough for him to walk across it.

The speed he had of turning water into ice while a long ways above the ground was more a gift of Lim's over something other water benders teach you about. Taking a risky leap he made it to the wall of the bandit's fort. Lim didn't have long. There was something in his gut that told him some of the bandits like to look in the sky.

It wasn't spotting him he was worried about; he was very hard to spot even from one out of a hundred in the same building. He was guessing a bunch of kites in the sky wasn't a regular occurrence.

"Goodness me. Not a foot standing near this big fort."

Lim wanted someone to hear he was safe for now. He climbed up the way like someone climbing bridge boards when the bridge was broken and the only way to get out was going up. However, he didn't have to remind himself it was better up than in the rapids where something could attack him.

Lim waited at the top of the cliff for any sign someone was walking around there. If anyone was walking around he would be spotted by them. This time he couldn't fight with his water bending which made him vulnerable. After some time, he finally got to pull himself up because there was no one walking around.

When he did stand on his feet again he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and saw a once dark entrance flared to life by lots of candlelight. Lim couldn't run from them since everywhere he looked there was a bandit standing in a corner.

This kind of situation called for the use of rope.

XXX

After his little assignment in Republic City a knight on a horse raced to the base Lim was climbing up. Everyone in his base knew he arrived because he projected a shadow people in their rooms could see. What they couldn't see in turn was a person with rope around his torso hoisted by the other end of the rope around something stuck to the ground. With one hand he bended fire in the shape of a corn chopper.

The fire was a fast projectile the trespasser wouldn't have time to see and escape from it. To the knights' surprise, however, the trespasser bungeed off the wall and high in the air. His rope was sliced off to the knight's satisfaction. To his rage the trespasser managed to save himself from falling using water bending. The water came out of a small jar he kept hidden behind his back and it was thanks to his bending he walked over the bandits who were suppose to be smart enough to see some young fool walking over their heads.

This was all bad with quick thinking like that the knight wouldn't be surprised if he could free all the prisoners.

XXX

The bad news for Lim was he didn't have any way of escaping the bandit now that his rope was too short. Than again his plan wasn't very thought through: Find a prisoner, take them to the edge to lower them into the forest, and pull himself back up to let other people escape. He was so naïve and reckless he forgot people could see cages without people inside and call a search party.

Lim's new plan was freeing as many prisoners as he can to make a one trip escape. He would ask for the smartest of the prisoners to run up front with him—a good escape needed people that could act no matter how things change.

' _If I remember…'_

Lim used a small pocket mirror to look around the corner for guards. There were two of them and they were standing outside the door the prisoners were being kept in. Lim knew from experience of playing Pente the more people in a room the louder they can be heard from outside. He heard them so loud and clear screaming to get out of the room.

It was scary seeing other people abuse living people, but what also scared him was the appearance of someone he knew tried to kill him. This knight looking person diverted the guards away from the door so he could have a word of warning for them if they saw someone who was Lim walking around. He didn't keep the people where they should be and that helped Lim make it in through the door.

He was surrounded by people who were caged, all their belonging including a little doll were put on a shelf labelled "Things That Now Belong To Us", and men who looked big had red lash marks on their exposed skin.

"Stand Back." Lim warned them before bending water out of the sink. He bended the water over two cages before freezing the cages where they shattered after he hit them with a clock hung up on the wall. "Your free but to get out of here I need all of you to help me fight some bandits. I take it none of you have any bending you can use?"

All of the men and women and children freed from their prison nodded their heads to Lim.

"We come from a village with a majority of non-benders." A girl said. She was the girl Lim was suppose to get out safely and something told him her childhood wasn't her growing up in the same village as all the people. "The villainy here is they make us meld weapons in hot boiler rooms while others they auction away to a black market. We are not sure you can help us."

"I will once I get everything I need."

Lim took off his shirt. He needed to soak it with water to use that water for his bending. He also picked a bowl he would fill with water. From his guessing, he imagined lots of people were subjected in lethally hot environments and the bowl was to wet a cloth to keep them cool. So he put his towel on the neck of his skin and filled the bowl with water ready for combat.


	7. Chapter 7

**I wrote this page on the weekend when I was at a cottage with no wifi. I only managed to type out the page of it today. I didn't get to type out as much as I wrote but I'm getting there so don't worry.**

XXX

Mastering waterbending involved years of training and scouring all the water tribes for good teachers. Lim would never take those years under their tutelage in vain. Now for the escape he was the teacher of people he would free.

The barracks the bandits used to keep prisoners was visited by s father who was broken up from a woman only to learn she raised his daughter. She died of a heart problem. His daughter shed tears from her eyes to her chin when she met him two days after her funeral in the Earth tribe. He wanted her to work hard, think for herself, sing a song when the birds were by, and start her own family-he would wear gloves not wanting to dirty his grandchild's skin.

He didn't find any prisoners. What he found was a strong glass of water for Lim to use as a waterbending tool. He moved back to Lim feeling the plan to escape was on his shoulders. Alongside him, trapped on the wall were firebenders. They were the bandits that took him with their clothes on their elbows impaled by water spears. A true waterbender can use a spear of solidified water into ice as a perfect weapon.

"You're too slow." A prisoner anxious to escape after the turmoil she went through in those cells told him.

He ignored her going ahead with tossing the glass of water in the air. Lim saw the water—he needed it when all the other water he used turned into steam. His bending process was turning the water splashed into an orb, twirling it around his waist when it was at his level, keeping his hand in mind for his attack, and eyeing the firebender twins with glasses and ponytails. They heated molten hot fire unleashed in the shape of a bird, versatile and fast attack Lim had to launch his water skyward to dodge, yet he fell on his back.

The twins were eyeing each other with their teeth at full grin.

"We did it. We stopped this hero trying to be the Avatar." said the twin standing left.

"He was naive, didn't keep in mind it's the Avatar's task to save the helpless and only she, the current Avatar can control all four elements."

The twins were so proud of themselves they missed the water right where Lim wanted it to be. The twins jumped planning to hurl a finishing fireball. Lim could control water with his hands. With his bending he focused on the water over them turning their bodies into pillow sheets of ice. Both brothers fell on their backs; arms being restrained in ice.

They were stuck like Lim when he fell down with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't control all four elements like the Avatar. You're right about that. People reached the pinnacle of waterbending much faster than me, left me feeling ashamed because other kids' parents would bring it up to my dad. What have they told me about waterbending? Everything. Being able to free prisoners is just phenomenal. The Avatar may solve all problems keeping each side neutral, but standby for this runaway railroad waterbender."

Lim only wished he had a lady to hug him for telling his enemies his path and sparing them like the Avatar would. All he gained was a realization of how he was in a war against bandits when the twins grunted trying to escape. He had an idea.

The remaining bandits had shields put on their arms forming a barricade. All of them holding their shields wanted to make the prisoners grovel for trying to break free. A black armoured bandit ranked highest in the base forced them to be his wall. All these men blocking the exit and crushing all the powerless prisoners hope,was daunting like the knight hoped.

' _My son has failed. Why are five percent of children working with their parents failures.'_ the knight thought.

The knight expected the door to fly off when the 'Champion of Freedom', what a few people from all four tribes called him, made it to his area but he just opened the door as he and the prisoners walked out in single file. The twins were held by the waterbender and they were trapped in doors of ice with their eyes covered in a blindfold made of ice.

The knight would only fight for the freedom of one of them-they were twins but only one of them was his son and the other was a simpleton who looked like his son.

"Hello." Lim said with a smile that told the knight he thought he had leverage. "I'm just here to free people you stole when they don't belong to you. I don't have three strength to beat all of you. Lookie though, I have two men who belong to you, big ice I can transform into water, and a big cliff for them to fall down. If the leader here will fight me one-on-one...I'll let them go."

Lim and the knight were staring eye-to-eye despite the knights eyes being limited to a small slit in his helmet. After staring the knight talked to his men. There was tension in the air because his stare was enough to make the men put their shields away. Lim held his end of the bargain turning the ice on the twins into a puddle of water.

Lim thought that was a bit of a waste since he worked hard making those blindfolds.

One of the twins scampered to the knight for a hug and to Lim's surprise the other one ran to be in the barricade of bandits.

Lim sat down cross legged when their duel started. The knight twirled his axe sword around intimidating most of the prisoners except a girl with pigtails. Lim could imagine all the slices he would make so he wasn't fearful of the weapon. To Lim's surprise the top of the weapon popped off showing an oil gusher nozzle. The knight was preparing to make an enormous flamethrower shown by fire created in his left hand.

The chain attack was settled when black oil sprouted out of his weapon and the flame in his hand touched the oil. In an instant a inferno was moving towards Lim. He didn't panick waterbending the puddle to make a whip, controlling the whip his bending helped him get in the air by hitting the ground with his elongated water.

Lim was saved from the inferno of fire but it was now a situation where he was up a creek without a paddle or waterbending. The knight shot oil balls out of his weapon getting in the air.


	8. Chapter 8

**I thought it would be redundant that I would manage to post this chapter the day after I posted the previous chapter. I hope this surprise in the chapter is an enjoyable change to how the story was going so far.**

XXX

Lim was close to the oil and falling at the same speed as them. Lim felt a shiver of fear and adrenaline drip down his spine the moment the knight hurled a fireball at the oil.

Lim had one chance. Water droplets in the air weren't enough to save him but a water bottle could bend a shield. His shield didn't stop the ringing in his ears. The pain in his earlobes was a gift from the explosions that could have went off in his face.

He was close now to the knight showing him something that could cool down a firebender. He blended his shield into water. His attack came when he blended the water into one long sharp blade; the knight tried finishing Lim swinging his axe sword around to lop off his head.

In combat so fast no one could see which weapon prevailed they watched Lim and the knight with their backs against the other. A luxury came on both sides when both weapons were cut off from the top. Both benders let go of their weapons seeing how they were now useless.

"You're four lengths of girth in a three length room," the knight said to Lim.

Lim didn't know he was being insulted until the knight continued talking.

"From what I've seen you make a better wall than a window. I wanted to save this duel for the Avatar and instead I get a pompous lazy waterbender with no talent. You bore me."

"I'll make you puke those words out."

Lim tried attacking the knight in his backside. The knight evaded his attempt jumping high off the ground. Lim's battle became a lot more complicated when the knight's armor morphed off his body into a red metallic ball. Lim got to see what the man really looked like. He was a man who was too light; weight for people to imagine him wearing big armor. His skin was Caucasian with red slits on his body where he was cut. His only clothes were caudoroy slacks and a black shirt that seemed to be falling off.

The man fired his ignited metal ball towards Lim the same way a cannonball was fired. All it took was the right bending of the water to slice the ball in half. The now armorless knight falling to kick was a shock to everyone when-Lim already finished him trapping him in a sharp ice going through his clothes but missing his skin.

"Sorry to disappoint someone eager to meet the Avatar. How does it feel losing to a lazy slacker instead."

Lim slapped his fists in the air while sliding his foot cancelling the structure of his bending. The man did nothing but sulk on the ground while Lim and the prisoners escaped through a door made in the barricade. Lim was happy walking down that rocky road because Cheesewire was anxiously waiting for him to get down.

Cheesewire pushed his head affectionately against Lim's arms now stroking his head. When all the mushy reunion of friends stuff was over Lim walked side by side towards the rendezvous with all the prisoners now free of their cells and out of those treacherous firebenders clutches.

Normally a mission Lim completed took him to new towns to be congratulated or paid for his valor. His act of bravery was why people think he could have the next Avatar in his future lineage. Thinking about a nonbender instead of someone who could master all of the elements he knocked on a door.

"Tell us who you are."

That was the sound of the rich son of the person Lim was negotiating with.

"Take me back to when waterbenders were attractive." Lim said remembering a song.

As long as women were capable of more than make-up he could try living his life with a fellow waterbender of the opposite sex. After thinking like a waterbender trying but not working hard he was let in by a boy old enough to know being popular won't help him lead an army and it was Lim's guess he was eighteen years old. His skin wasn't ebony enough to he a waterbender of any two tribes, Lim heard he was a waterbender from his mother while his sister can bend fire like her father could.

"Your figure resembles nothing of a girl." The boy grumbled to Lim.

"Duh, doughnut head." Lim said insulting the prince with his best silly face.

"Your lucky this mission will please me watching you squirm against girls."

"Don't scare our champion against impossible odds away, and bring him closer to me."

The short tempered prince led Lim to a man with clean grey hair, a red suit, two golden brushes on his elbows, and cargo violet pants.

"I need you to pick a girl name for what I'm about to ask. How does Luna sound?" The man told Lim pausing for an answer.

"I can think of a bigger boatload of names: Laura, Lori, Leslie, Linn..."

"Father, Linn is a name close enough to his original name. It's perfect for him and funny to me." the prince said.

"Good. In the All Benders Allowed Women Only Tournament."

"What?!" Lim shouted. He thought they would negotiate a reward.

"I have a man in charge of animals he can deliver to my village. He's kind of a poacher who steals from other poachers to help transport animals into a sustained habitat. He wants the trophy for the tournament."


	9. Chapter 9

**I hope I don't seem like a misogynist writing an arc about my character fighting in a tournament full of women. I had trouble writing this chapter because I had to think about all the ways Lim could win against them.**

XXX

"Am I just expected to believe poachers interested in women bending is a real thing? I know the reason you picked me was you were in a rush and the Avatar wouldn't do this for you. There's a different you need someone to do this tournament. I only work for free helping prisoners, I'll charge twenty-five thousand yuan to compete, but will give it back unless I win. I'll charge extra if you want me to carry this secret to my grave."

"You won't tell anyone you competed in a women's tournament dressed like one." The father said.

Lim turned from demanding something equivalent to a car if he could drive; he was now having a stare down with the rich man while that man's son glared at him like a midday sun glare. Lim gave in to their combined teamwork.

"I just want the twenty-five thousand yuan to start a family someday." Lim tried talking to the father to fire an arrow of love to his heart. "Being a father you know how expensive it is to raise a kid, being a champion rescuing people I also won't get to see my children-"

"If your looking for fealty of a benevolent donation you whimpered to the wrong man. Do your job well and maybe you'll receive a chest of good accessories."

XXX

Lim spent the rest of the time silent on his way to the women bending tournament. It was a gathering of women from all four nations, but only Benders and participants who can make it past a bender official will be able to fight for the top.

Lim had a single hairpin in his hair lathered with cleaning gel, a small vest with a blue penguin insignia, four arms with one holding a snow cone on the penguin, and to make him look female his belly button was exposed.

A boy in the stands shouted "Eew!"

Lim walked into a borrowed school auditorium with the walls moved back from earthbenders working for the tournament. Lim had stability moving around with jeans tied around his pants and pink metal sole boots. He could still do backflips in the boots, if only boys didn't leer at him trying to find which part of his hip would sway.

Lim knew what he was thinking was mean, but it seemed to him no boy was ogling his muscular female opponent with a wooden armor chest.

"Get ready pretty thing. I am a renowned bender discovering all good ways to bend." She said flexing her muscles in the air.

A referee blew his fighting whistle. Her first move was taking off her armor, revealing her green coat underneath it, and threw it at Lim like a best friend passing a ball. With her body as an extension of herself out of the armor went three metal wires. Lim tried escaping them but one coiled around his left hand. He needed to waterbend an object. Sharp from his memory, water streaming out of only two ponds on different ends of his opponent.

Lim's waterbending was stopped by the arrowhead in the front of the metal wire.

"It's time you show the inner amazon inside you unless you wish to humiliate your nation with this defeat."

She switched from bending metal to bending the ground. A mountain of dirt took him off the ground. He tried jumping off, but a cord in the armor kept him struggling in the air. She soon began to metalbend the rest of the metal cords protruding from holes in her wooden armor. Lim couldn't afford more cords getting to him, and the only way he escaped was him grabbing the arrowhead on the cord around his arm. Moving from the arrowhead down the cord one squeeze at a time he broke free.

His act stirred "oohs" and some "awes" from people in the crowd. His fall also went smoothly from his bending on the puddle on the rock.

Thr strong muscular girl used her bending to make a rock wave roaring out of the ground and heading to him. Lim used the water from the spot he was standing in to bend stairs to walk on once he solidified the stairs into ice. Lim fell from the stairs to the woman; he was a shadow blinding her from light as well what he was doing.

She was swiftly hit from a tentacle of solidified water, and the force of the tentacle knocked her out of the ring.

"The water tribe and waterbenders of Republic City can cheer...cheer. Linn is one of forty-seven other female benders who will fight for the respect of tribes and benders."

Lim knew he was being forced to fight this tournament for his yuan higher than any jobs he's had. He was a little rough but he was in her hands not long ago and she would hurt him just as hard. Being merciful though he bended a ring close to resembling a halo for her and healed the pain he could only imagine was throbbing where her head was bashed by the wall.

Lim learned from his teachers. There was one technique no waterbender should have to use: bloodbending.

Lim being addressed as Linn walked four flights of stairs to fight a girl who became a bender from a Lion Turtle. She was Chinese wearing a yellow hakama with flowers, a red sash around her belly area, she was bare feet for some reason, also short black haired with her hair looking like a triangle with the top pointy and her hair above her forehead in a line, and her eyes were amber with small black eyebrows.

"You seem to know how to slip out of strong steel. You will never be as good as me though. I am here to revitalize the world with my bending and my hardships." She said.

Lim cared a little about what she was telling him, but he wanted to do the audastic thing sticking down his eye and sticking his tongue out. To his shame though she looked around the floating stages seeing combustions of fire, rock floating or making the ground look like a avalanche, and water stretching out to trap or lash at an opponent.

The battle had started already. She was nonchalant about it.

She moved her legs in position. Lim's eyes widened in surprise when she air bended a strong wind towards him. Lim waterbender from water beneath grades and solidified the water to make a shield. Her airbending was strong from how Lim was barely holding on. To get away, he only had five seconds, he rolled away from his shield made of ice.


	10. Chapter 10

**I have more chapters to publish for this story. I wrote this one on paper and typed it out on a cottage with another few chapters after it. Thank you for your patience.**

XXX

She moved her legs in position. Lim's eyes widened in surprise when she air bended a strong wind towards him. Lim waterbender from water beneath grades and solidified the water to make a shield. Her airbending was strong from how Lim was barely holding on. To get away, he only had five seconds, he rolled away from his shield made of ice.

Her airbending was strong from how Lim was barely holding on to get away, he only had five seconds, he rolled away from his shield made of ice. It was cracking being hit by heavy damage; Lim did moves that could help him change the ice into water and bend it like a snake snapping it at the airbender. She did a twirl with her hand positioned to grab a sunrise. He strange moves bended a cyclone' the barrier of wind ripped Lim's water bending.

Lim rapidly raised water balls out of the grates with his bending and tossed them at the airbender as water since throwing iceballs was cruel and hundreds of people who lived in the water tribes would agree. His attack still disoriented her on whether she should bend air to stop water that was blinding her from Lim.

Lim soaked the area he secreted water from the ground to form a water ball. The size of the waterball moved way to a bending technique spitting the water into tentacle water forms. And then Lim shot the water at his opponent. She jumped like a lemur in the air Lim missed her when she became airborne and she floated down like a lemur from the ground from the vent air helping her.

"Nice trick." Lim said not hiding a smug look on his face. "You can try to make people think you're an invincible airbender, all I can say is knock off the act. I can smell the sweat from you and differentiate it from the musk you have Ms. Try To Smell Good."

Her response to the ignorance in his insult was looking at the other floating cages. Out of the twenty-three other battles only five others were going.

She would have to make that four now. One female bender fell off from a wall of fire her opponent bended. She was saved though by an eagle bear. An eagle bear was a brown bear with a beak, gold claws instead of black, and large brown wings with specks of gold on them. Tournaments were notorious at showcasing the word as a fun game but never has such a creature been found.

"I've never met a girl who ignores me as much as you. You do realize I'm going to attack you because I need to win. You can't stop me because you can't bend air to make paper float."

Lim's goading finally gave him the attention he was seeking. She extended her hands wide, opened her mouth for a quick breath, and raised her knees bending only partially down. Finally, her hands came together creating a seismic blast of wind. Lim knew a way for them to cut through airbending; patience and accuracy would be the key for beating her strong yet feasible bending.

All the tangible water in the grates rose from the metallic squares. The right spinning of his hands made the water join making a giant knife attached to a tentacle cord which the end coiled to Lim's palm. Lim punched the ground with the knife creating a tidal wave of seismic whirlpool. The girls airbending was overpowered and she was knocked off the battlefield. Awaiting the falling airbender was a man wearing a puffy green hat with a feather she felt behind his back not even feeling pain in her legs.

Her story wasn't over but for now she was defeated in the first round.

Lim went from being of only twenty-four other girls (he was only lying about being one) who battled next on solid ground. There were trio's of waterbenders where the water was rotating around for earth benders, a salamander snake who swallowed fireballs to spit them helping firebenders blow fire as well use lighting from the ashes and a window was open for airbenders; every minute a strong wind would breeze in helping the benders.

Lim was on a role up to the final three he decided two waterbenders like him—he was only wearing his dress for the day. After making it to the finals he waited outside for someone to tell him what a good job he's doing.

' _I don't want someone to act like my father who is looking for abandoned animal fur. I just want someone to make me feel like those two finalists inside._ "

One of the finalists was with her husband and son while the other was with her adoptive parents, both males, and personal trainer. Just when the isolation was enough to make Lim cry—he would be crying already if not for his training that his tears were a weapon—he noticed the airbender on a swing set.

Leave it to the airbenders to be alone on a playground.

"I don't think the committee will be happy finding someone of your age on those swings." Lim said trying to warn her. Her eyes and head were lifted up to see birds flocking south. "Again, with ignoring me."

Lim decided not to heed his own advice as he walked to the swingset and sat his buns down, and he liked imaging his posterior as buns because it was the favorite food his teachers made him. He swinged as high as he could be leaving the airbender down below, ironic. After a moment in the air he stopped trying to swing the highest and just sat next to the quiet airbender.

"Is it okay to loathe an Avatar deceased? He didn't start the war with fire." Lim wasn't sure how to continue his speech.

"Win this game only for yourself. It is a phenomenon that a waterbender could win a whole tournament. I wanted to try for myself but I'm indebted to that Lion Turtle and pain in my butt teacher. You're a weed in a flower bed who only cares about himself."

"You sound like my mother."

Her eyes were forward while Lim was trying to gaze into her eyes. He though that joke was worth one chuckle. Being calm and serious now though he realized she wasn't asking him to think of only himself. It was a strange lesson he learned from a strange and peculiar girl, but acting for himself on accomplishing a goal was what she was say.

Lim returned to the tournament enlightened.

XXX

Korra and Asami were suppose to be at the tournament for when it started. Korra had a good reason of why she couldn't be at the tournament then: Asami had to be somewhere to discuss the future planned and Korra wanted to support her. Yesterday they went over if they managed to finish before the bending tournament ended they would go.

They could also watch on their bison from the roof because it was made of glass.

Two slim but muscular women were standing in a triangular black marble battlefield with a just slim girl. The just slim girl had no way appeared in every other round and won. Korra was cheering for the contestant Finda and even though she was the loudest person in Asami's ears the clear choice of cheering was on the other bender Iopal.

Poor Linn the waterbender wearing boots was getting the smallest cheers. If two people would cheer, a rich boy and his father, she would have the amount of cheers as Finda.

The battle started with the firebender Finda stomping her foot making a flower looking flames get up and almost burn Linn. Asami thought she was a goner, but she waterbended two tentacle looking water whips helping her evade by leaping over the fire with help from the whips.

Iopal the earthbender was slow looking like a growling peacock lion, but she bended big powers of rock heading for both of her enemies. Finda breathed fire from her mouth on the grate in the marble at the same time Linn bended while she was on top of a grate. At the same time Finda used the grate to burn Iopal's rock while a geyser of water helped Linn become airborne.

Korra was ecstatic about Finda when she used her firebending to hit Linn, a fist cocked at the right time blowing a ball of fire.

Linn was hit and while Finda got over the tower to fight Iopal, Linn was holding onto the tower created by her. If she hadn't grabbed it the fall into the tower would make her lose consciousness and be the first one defeated. Asami was impressed by her resilience to keep fighting no matter what was pushed at her.

Afar, Iopal managed to display mastery in her earthbending, but against Finda all it took was a breath of fire from her mouth followed by a strong punch by her arm. Iopal was knocked out.

"What an amazing amount of fire and martial arts." An elderly man in the crowd said.

Korra knew the bender she was cheering for was strong and good enough to win on a stage with only enough marble for two people to stand on. Linn looked exhausted. She was holding a part of her ribs from the fire she was hit with.

"Go Linn!" Asami cheered.

Korra enjoyed the challenge to see if the fighter she cheered for or her girlfriend was cheering for was the right fighter. Finda stomped on the ground launching herself from a burst of fire, and Linn got to where she was by jumping on rocks as a way to jump in the air. Finda breathed fire while Linn kicked the ground with water she bended.

Flipping and landing on her feet, Linn bended a strong gush of water. The water she bended helped Linn defend herself. Linn didn't stop bending, she made water flutter out of grates that shot right into Finda's breast. The same pain a man feels getting kicked in the groin was felt by her being knocked out, but her uniform was wet. Linn only had to bend one more port of herself to knock Finda out of the marble stadium.

Linn was the only one still standing on the stadium until she made her way off it to the fire bender she defeated. She waters bended a halo around the girl's head helping her head be healed. Following that she rubbed water on her arms to help heal the rest of her body. Korra couldn't heal anyone that way even though her forte was water bending. It was after Linn healed her that she also healed the earth bender Iopal.

Everything Linn did earned her a round of applause.

"Best. Female. Bender. To. Date!" A young girl three years younger than Korra exclaimed.

Korra couldn't believe that girl when Tenzin's mother Katara was the wisest and best female bender. Korra was also a strong bender able to take on anyone in the tournament.

Two men walked in during Linn's victory ceremony. Korra heard about these two men. From what she heard they weren't nice people. Korra was sure Linn was a nice girl, she only wished those two proved to be nice instead of walking away with Linn's trophy.

"The greatest waterbender I ever met was one who exceeded himself with few limitations. I implore all of you who want to get something to grab it not with your bending but with your actual hands. Someone asked me if I could see myself with someone special (Cheesewire) with me together for my whole life…the real question is if I can see myself not with them."

 **Lim's POV**

I'm a fraud wearing boots with a girls' shirt and button in my hair. I saw a young girl make an L sign with her two hands. I was enthralled by that symbol not the symbolism entailed in it.

I found the airbender that looks away from me when I act stupid in front of her. She had that stone face on her, envy, that I won the women bending tournament but admiration of being in battle against two other mighty benders and winning. Her hands had this cup of tea and despite the loud fool I was she gave one of her teas to me.

"Please sit down with me. No boots allowed in the room." She seemed to put little emotion in her voice. Not many people go around speaking like that even intentionally.

I put my boots in a locker room the audience use for their coats. A foolish action if they wanted to be stolen by a foolish thief—I never liked the boots and only use them for people to think I was a girl.

We were eating in a cafeteria where the wall with pictures was. This was still a school bringing me out of my ego to appreciate the education these kids must have.

"Should I stay with the other airbenders or be held "hostage" by a man with no defense against taking young girls?" she asked me. "When I leave do you think I should live a life as a non-bender. My parents just wanted me to be happy normal and out of trouble. The age I am is different from the nation of few airbenders. Maybe Lim the rescuer of hostages will know."

I almost bolted from this table out of this cafeteria, because she was secretly the cleverest girl I came to know. She ensnared me to make my next mission about her.

XXX

 **Normal POV**

Asami was the innovative one while Korra was rough around the edges. Those traits were what blossomed their love. Lim would find a love like theirs not by chance but when it finally happened. Knowing he is in love is when he feels like he is about to throw up.

Watching the female bending tournament was a moment of fun before Korra got involved in Lim's battle. The son of the black knight contacted her with ten firebenders shooting fiery tornadoes in the sky. Korra landed her Flying Bison in a perfect spot. When she stepped off the Bison a man wearing glasses Lim knew stepped forward.

Korra didn't know Lim or any of the people he's associated with.

"Hello Avatar." He pointed his finger at Asami. Korra though he was making a lame attempt at a joke and was proven right after he moved his finger at her. "As an Avatar you need to keep the balance in the world—the balance I'm sure you know is on a wigity-whack. There is a man who has gone drunk with power, had my poor father scathed so badly his back will never be the same, and pretended to be a girl…a lot of people were stupid on that one to say the least. Anyway, we need your help against this oppressor."

Korra wondered how to respond to this man's story. She did what her instincts told her to do and give herself some time before scouring for Lim. It wasn't like the man did anything bad to anyone, he just sounded like someone who needed a strong teacher.

All eleven men were looking at each other in mischievous ways managing to manipulate the Avatar. There wasn't a doubt she was flying off to find the obnoxious waterbender who liberated the prisoners from his black armored father. Intel on Lim helped him on a precise plan on eliminating the man who ruined his life.


	11. Chapter 11

**I forgot to add an author's note when I posted this chapter before. I apologize but all I have to say is I have another chapter posted after this one. Thank you for your support.**

XXX

Lim was walking through the longest ridge he's ever walked on holding Cheesewire's reins. Lim heard about this great new thing called Movers. He heard on them pictures move that could tell stories. He would have to take his new sidekick to one once they were done rescuing a fortress of slaves in an earth nation ruins.

Isla, the sidekick, wasn't discovered by Avatar Korra or her teacher Tenzin. When Lim heard there were more airbenders in the world he thought they would all live in high places but really they stayed grounded for him to rescue. Isla didn't need to be rescued; she was doing fine going across the long pieces of rope Lim nailed for her when he used water bending to smack off the ground and land on small mountains, rope in hand.

Korra was flying towards Lim and Isla on her bison. Asami was there looking at Korra with uncertainty of their situation. Flying to this man could be the same as helping the Earth Queen get money from her bank so she could live in luxury while others lived in poverty.

Asami was right about the trip being a trap. The black armored bandits' son was waiting on a piece of land hidden by a tall mountain. The only way to get through to the rock was by a narrow gap they had to watch their skimming through with sharp rocks burying into their cheekbones. He got in from his men making human ladders for him; five men on the entrance and five men on the inside.

"Our base has fallen but we have a way to take down the fool who ruined my father's legacy. First, slaves will run to Avatar Korra saying they work for the waterbender and his _girlfriend._ After they do the ones who can bend earth will bend rocks into the air to shot down Korra."

"That plan will never work."

The firebender put on his bifocals before throwing his glasses at the one who said his plan wouldn't work. The person caught the glasses and burned them with lava. He could bend lava like Ghazan and Bolin. He was a muscular man with two sharp whiskers sticking near both sides of his lip, brown eyes, chainmail metallic armor, black shorts, and a sword in a scabbard attached to his belt.

"The Avatar has seen many things thrown at her. Her bending can deflect any projectile of any elements, she is also the first metal bending Avatar so spears and arrows with metal won't work. Even if you picked a non-bending element like wood she could burn it with fire."

"If you hadn't interrupted me I would go over that." The son said mirthlessly. "So, the Avatar blocks the bending—as planned—and she will fly down to demand answers from her assailants. They will attack with a flurry of sand from the sandbenders and surround her in a sandstorm squeezing the life out of her. Zaheer the airbender who entered the Void would be proud of them sucking the life out of the Avatar."

"It's never going to workout," the muscular bandit said. This time the man took off his bifocals and threw them at him. The man unsheathed his blade and cut through the bifocals like a hot butter knife cuts through butter. They were split apart, but he picked up the bifocals offering them to the son. "These are yours."

"Indeed." He snapped his fingers at the smallest soldier of his five inside the rocks. "YOU! I want you to grab those bifocals and give them back to me!"

He quivered not because of his tyrannical and narcissistic leader but because the man he grabbed them from was a giant who smelled like death.

Once the son had his bifocals back he burned them away with his fire bending. A pair of glasses were given to the son with a big imagination and a big ego.

"The Avatar can enter the Avatar State when she is in mortal danger. In that state, she can air bend at will pushing the sand away and defeat anyone in her way. The people you sent don't have the manpower to stop her."

"Enough! It is not my intention to defeat the Avatar. Men much stronger than me have tried and failed to do it. However, who I will defeat today is that smug boy who is of now weak without water to bend. My people will tell her he sent them to eliminate her and point to him so she knows who to vent her frustration of almost dying on. They will fight, he will surely lose in a place where his waterbending is weak, and then…" He snapped his fingers for the same small soldier to fetch him a box with the tool of destruction inside. He opened it to reveal an arrow with a enlarged silver arrow tip on an arrow and a white bow. "I shall administer poison in his veins. I love it when a plan falls through."

"Have you always been an imbecile?"

"Yes."

The son stopped gloating to realize the insult he gave himself. He became enraged at the man who insulted that he firebended straight towards him. The man didn't have to move an inch. A combustion bender fired between the flames stopping the fire from touching the lava bender. He raised his hands across making stone tiles raise to the man's neck. When he was trapped the combustion bender appeared with a hermit looking hedgehog skinned spirit on his shoulder. The man was slim unlike his muscular friend, had the same eye with red miasma painted around the eye, hair smooth on the top behind his eye but a pile of scruffy hair under a brooch. He dressed entirely in green with no pockets in his suit.

"All of you stand down. This fool needs to see how his plan was doomed from the start. I have a solemn oath to avenge my friend if he gets hurt, so be good soldiers and play nice with him." The lavabender said.

He bended earth from the ground to rise them up from the area they were in. The tiles around the son went back into the dirt. The son tried to attack again despite his earlier embarrassment, but the lavabender grabbed his head and turned it around to show him the glaring sun…under the son were the sandbenders praying to the Avatar and her Air Bison. She descended to them to hear what they had to say.

"We were held captive in ruins over that mountain. A lavabender has been keeping us in metal prison cell. Half of us were freed by a— "

The lavabender made rocks erupt from the ground with his bending, a pool of lava moving behind the rocks until the whole rocks became black from the lava. Korra was averted from the lava listening to the poor villagers, but she noticed the lava from the heat she felt. She entered the Avatar State to push the lava away with bigger rocks.

"Thank you, Avatar," one of the sandbender's nearly cried saying.

"Avatar!" A loud and mean voice echoed on top of the rock.

The lavabender was there. Korra prepared to shot her airbending at him, but he shouted something that made her stop.

"I'm not here to fight! I was forced to bend that lava towards you!"

He jumped off the rock to the sand. Asami walked to Korra's side to hear what this nefarious looking bender had to say. He took off his belt holding his sword inside. The sword was thrown away in the sand. Korra had a determined look in her face but he was too tall for her.

"My name is Ei." The lavabender said causing a man to point and shout.

"He is the one who has been holding us prisoner!"

"Yes, these men have seen me in the same dungeon as them looking at them from the other side of a cell. But can you recall one day I ever smiled seeing you stuck in metal cages?"

All the people of different ages and different genders tried to think of a past where they saw him smile. If anything, he had a look that was apologetic. They kept thinking until one man became mad enough to shout.

"He still had plenty of chances to let us out, but he kept us in there to rot!"

"I never could open a key. The key to your cells belonged to my leader, a waterbender named Lim. He has returned to our ruins to free the prisoners before escaping. But once a prisoner enters the ruins of Yujing they become lost in unspeakable imprisonment."

A long line from combustion bending went into the sky before an explosion went off. Everyone, even Korra and Asami, were distracted by the explosion. Korra was taken back by a prisoner screaming as a dark spirit appeared in front of it. It was an entity of dark ink body, ghostly yellow eyes, and sharp teeth. The villager sent a silent cry thinking his time was over.

The villager was saved when long glowing strands encircled the entity. The spirit went from big and dark to small and gray after Avatar Korra calmed it down with her spirit bending. The spirit hopped along away from the villagers.

Korra was confused. Only Vaatu could change good spirits into dark spirits and he was vanquished with her uncle Unalaq. Before she could think very hard about what happened the lavabender brought her attention to him.

"That was only one spirit. There will be more freed if Lim releases his prisoners. If getting the villagers back to their village is a problem I can lead them there. Please, let me reconcile with them and show them how I can redeem myself in their eyes."

"Korra, let me take the villagers," Asami broke in. "I can carry the ones too weak to walk and watch him in the air. I need to make sure what he's saying isn't a trick."

"I approve. Leave Lim to me."

Korra jumped in the air before she blasted off towards the ruins with her firebending. Asami cinched up her button to the metal in her coat. If a sandstorm came she didn't want any sand to get inside her lips. And while she did that a few of the able-bodied prisoners helped the small and the weak but left one stubborn headed elder below. The lavabender was herein a help to the villagers.

He walked until he reached a big mountain. He would be meeting someone away from the villagers there. He convinced them to go around while he made a door by pushing into the rock and his bending making a path for him. The inside was dimly lit with sun, but he could hear the sound of his friend who puttered through the mountain without rock bending and the fool.

"She was completely fooled." The son sniggered as Asami was flying over them and Korra was jumping over mountains. "Now we can stop that waterbender together."

"We? You're a jubilant buffoon who will take these people back to their village or suffer my wrath."

He touched the rocks with his left hand. A small boulder a rock protruded from the wall. It became a lot hotter inside the rock.

"With my bending, I can turn up the temperature here to two hundred degrees. If you value your skin I suggest you jump out. When you jump out, you will say you are a guide to take them back to the village because Ei was kowtowed blackmailed into keeping them prisoners yet he cannot live with his mistake."

The firebender's son nodded as he stepped out of the hole. The sandbenders and other people smelled a trap coming along. Asami noticed something bad to which was why she flew back to confront Ei.

The ground shook causing everyone on the ground to fall. The firebender was just as confused as them but the stares of some of the sandbenders were holding him in contempt for what happened next. However, their stares turned into baffled looks when the mountain was sinking into lava mixed in with the bottom of the mountain. Everyone stepped back as the lava moved towards them. The firebender pushed through people to get into the back where it was safe.

The mountain kept sinking losing its name to a boulder and eventually a rock—a small point of the rock sticking out. The firebender could see the combustion bending shooting out of the lava, he crouched low and covered his ears in fear. When the combustion went through making gushes of lava fly everywhere the sandbenders used their bending to make a sandstorm that pushed the lava away from them.

Asami made sense of what the lavabender Ei was trying to accomplish. Wasn't moving forward with the rest of the sandbenders, he was moving backwards to where his ruins were. Leaving Korra put her life in jeopardy of him.

The firebender was hard of breathing with all the sandbenders around him. " Ahahaha…this way to the next earth village. Everyone follow me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Today was a good day to post this chapter. I received my order from a website and managed to do all my work at my job by myself. I also finished a page of my comic book with help of course. I hope the next chapter makes fans squeal in joy.**

XXX

An earthbending bandit put on a brown coat with only one of them who had metal squeezed around his arms. They had hats that looked like umbrella's, had green eyes mostly with a few having blue eyes, and sandals on. The one who could metal bend didn't wear a hat, he just had brown hair with lighter blue eyes.

Isla walked in front of two guards at the entrance. She did a little spin around like a top that blew air out at the two guards. They were pushed against the wall, the perfect spot for Lim to throw water around their arms he solidified into ice.

"You were right, your way was better than my way." Lim said.

"It's good when you can admit I'm right," she said holding back a real smile until after they free the prisoners.

Lim checked the two guards but neither of them had any keys. He hoped one of the guards would yell for help but he was still as a statue. Lim could think of many stone jokes for rock benders if he didn't have an idea.

XXX

Three guards were waiting around the corner with their arms and legs in position to earth bend. Their leader Ei said there was always a chance the front door would be compromised by a well-versed bender so they had to give them the element of surprise.

Someone stepped around the corner. To their relief, it was only one of theirs walking in with a donkey giraffe. They had to think for a second though if they ever allowed teenage looking members in their ruins. Before they could remember where the soldier howled.

"Now Cheesewire!"

The donkey giraffe put its head down and charged into one of the soldiers. From a canteen of water the soldier bended a long intangible piece of water he splashed at the earth benders. Before they could bend earth, they were trapped in a pillow sheet looking piece of ice.

Lim didn't need help from Isla that time. She stepped out of the corner seeing one soldier down and two calling for help. She knew where they were more earthbenders would find them and she was right. Two earthbenders appeared out of a wall by hitting it open. They moved their arms and were sliding their feet apart to attack her with rocks. She stopped them by jumping and shooting air from her feet. The air pushed their rocks into the ceiling. The three continued unleashing rocks on her, but their onslaught was stopped by her breaking the rocks with her airbending.

Lim entered the fray spilling water on the ground. Thanks to Isla he had the concentration and time he needed to change the puddle of water into giant pairs of lobster claws interconnected. He pushed the lobster claws towards them and moved his body for preparations of more bending. His lobster claws became ice that pinned the three earthbenders into the wall.

"I've never seen a waterbender try something so…bizarre before." Isla said.

"Spend hours in a pond bending whatever comes to your mind and you'll find ways to change water that way as well. Although you're an airbender and not the Avatar so maybe we'll never see how you do it."

Lim was very close to the prison cells. He knew the more guards he knocked down the closer he came to their cells. He managed to knock out an earthbender by trapping him in a big ball of water before letting him down and letting Isla hit him with wind. He lost consciousness after dealing with her blow.

Lim eagerly ran down the stairs to the prison cells. Even without the keys he heard airbenders could open lock doors with the right air bending. That plan was changed when he saw a man he could see was a metal bender from the things on his sleeves.

"I heard about you waterbender." The man bended two of his metal off his shirt and propelled them towards Lim. Lim used water Isla brought for him to create a watery tentacle he used to smack the metal away. "My leader Ei heard about you without any knowledge I was listening through the door. The person talking to him said he had the most well guarded prison for slaves and you somehow walked away with every slave there." He raised his hands to raise a sheet of metal on the ground. He stomped his foot and punched the sheet sending it rocketing forward towards Lim. Lim managed to get through it by his bended tentacle turning into ice fast enough to slice through the sheet. "You haven't gotten these prisoners out, and if your trying to become the Avatar's favorite person just know she only cares about the balance not the underdogs."

The man kneeled down to grab the metal sheets before raising his hands to send all the sheets flying. With his bending, he created a spiraling twister of metal sheets at Lim. The water bender grabbed his foot to spread the water he had on there. His next move was jumping where he punched the sheets with his fists while slashing them in half with his new foot.

The man could also earthbend rocks out since he took out the metal. His earthbender prisoners could also bend earth but they were too afraid to try it; the guard outside their cells was a master of combat.

Isla walked in doing another spin of air mistaken for a break dance pushing away the sheets that tried hitting Lim from his backside. It was like they were a couple now the way Lim pulled apart his water for giant icicles he hurled at the metal sheets, followed by turning the icicles into raindrops to cleave through when water on his hand turned into an ice axe. Isla shot the sheets with only one hand. She used her second hand to create a ball of air swirling in the ceiling. All the severed pieces of metal flew into the air and were shot out from the entrance of the cells.

The man was about to trap them both in a mountain of rocks before throwing a rock that would crush their heads. His plans came from his ego and his ego underestimated his opponents. From Lim's side Cheesewire the donkey giraffe charged in to hit him with his head that grew in size since they entered, hence where the giraffe part of his name came in.

Before he could make it up Lim bended water around his arms before freezing them in ice. He wriggled his legs violently trying to kick Lim with all the strength he could muster through them. Lim sighed before going through the same steps of his bending, moving a wave of water around his feet, and freezing them in ice.

"Well it was nice meeting you. If you ever decide your done with this bandit business join me on an adventure. Someday I'll need an earthbenders help." Lim said trying his best to make his heart warm with his smile.

The man just turned red in the face from all the anger and shame he felt losing. Lim was just glad he didn't spit at him like others would having their hands and legs trapped like him. To be on the safe side he stole the keys from behind his armor by waterbending a puddle of water into the armor and retracting the water so the keys slipped through his armpit hole.

Isla used her airbending to open one door. One door at a time was all she could manage with her airbending and Lim opened the doors on the other side with his keys. The prisoners were whispering to each other to some and hugging their love ones or friends with others. When they were done all of them stood in a line, put one palm out with a fist touching their hand, and they bowed to Lim and Isla.

"You have our gratitude," the most wizen elder of the prisoners said while he still bowed to them. "We are forever in your thanks for freeing us from those horrible earthbenders."

Lim respected their bow by putting his hands the same way they did and bow to them. Isla interrupted him tapping on his arm while pointing to the exit. Lim glanced at where she pointed seeing a person his eyes could not believe, Avatar Korra.

"Are you freeing these prisoners to distract me so you can escape?" Korra asked him moving her fists around.

Lim knew someone messed with her head. Knowing his luck, it was probably that firebender who was the son of that bandit base boss getting revenge for what happened with his father.

"I don't know who told you I was here, but you have been lied to. I am Lim, I was raised from birth to help people from oppressors. You're a smart girl I'm sure you can help people and appreciate when others step in."

While Lim was trying to reason with Korra, Isla felt her feet getting hot. She looked under her feet to see lava growing in the ground.

' _If we don't leave soon this thing is going to burn us until we are nothing but bone.'_ She broke in from Lim and Korra's talk to say one word. "Run!"

All the prisoners ran through the ground feeling hot in their feet. They were lucky the lava hadn't completely gotten through the ground or they would be burned alive by it. Even the smell of lava could cause a person to pass out. Lim, knowing that the prison cell would be swallowed by lava growing much faster than a tree soon, jumped over the lava to pick up the earthbender trapped in ice before running across the hot ground.

"You know…" Lim couldn't help make a dumb joke to someone who had no choice but to listen to it—his new girl who was kinda a friend never did. "People actually pay lots of money to have something like that. It helps with foot fungus."

He was laughing and for a moment Lim thought he enjoyed the joke. It wasn't until he simmered down from laughing that he told Lim the true meaning behind his laughter.

"Ei my leader is here. He shall destroy you all. These ruins are a last resort tomb for anyone who manages to free his prisoners."


	13. Chapter 13

**I would like to apologize for Chapter 4. I meant to write Donkey-Girafee and instead I wrote Zebra-Girafee. I will definitely fix that error. The issue though is it's probably not the first error I made and won't be the last. I still like writing this story though, new chapter in a day or two.**

XXX

Korra stayed in the ruins. She was in there watching the men and women leave, but she knew dark spirits could also appear. She waited for one spirit to show their mucky self to her. Fire bended loud balls of fire in the air for a spirit to come after her, only her discovery was there were no dark spirits.

She had so much focus on the dark spirits and clarity of getting people out, she forgot about Lim.

XXX

Moments ago, Lim was following Korra to the exit. Something he couldn't ignore cried out, a young child's voice. Lim dropped the metal bender—he was a human being who felt pain when being dropped—but Lim regret was not having him carried out instead he had the ice around him liquefied by Lim's bending.

"Do you have feeling in your arms and legs now? Whatever frigid feeling you had is no more?" Lim asked.

The metal bender was unresponsive standing; he just nodded to Lim. Lim feigned a smile. His true feelings towards the man were a sucker punch in his face. He felt anger towards Lim, but he just scurried to the exit.

"I'll punch you again if I didn't have to save your prisoner!" Lim shouted.

Lim retraced his steps until he found a dark room. He ran at full throttle not slowing down. He knew lava smog would cover the area soon and choke the water bender to death. Any other water bender would be trapped to suffocate by the black fumes. His salvation to that was a small drop of water converging with another drop of water. He smeared the water on the wall.

All it took was the tiny ball to mend with the dirt—a catalyst inside something strong and sturdy—and a wall of ice crystalized behind Lim. Now Lim was trapped in the tunnel, but the smoke couldn't get through his _magic_ bending.

XXX

Korra was in her lotus position speaking to Isla. Even air benders refusing Tenzin's ways of years of tradition liked meditation positions. Korra asked her what circumstances brought her to the water bender. She left out she met Lim as his alias Lin, however, she had some shocking news.

"I was taken as a hostage. I'm punished for my ignorance and not laughing at his dumb jokes. He berates other air b enders a lot."

He sounded like the person Korra would punch if she didn't try a pacifist way since Kuvira's defeat.

Korra's mind raised an alarm when a geyser of water came out of a hole in the ground. Until she saw the water a part of her was worried it was lava sputtering out of the ground; then her and the freed people would be in danger.

The danger part was a false alarm. Lim stood on the ground surface holding a boy wearing the clothes under normal clothes, a sleeveless white shirt tattered around it.

"Don't be afraid. I want to protect the Earth Kingdom like Kuvira. Kuvira, what a lady of undeniable talents." Lim said before signing in a serene state where he and Kuvira were holding hands. That was in his mind only.

Lim never mentioned his unfettered admiration for the now imprisoned girl whose ex-fiancée made a spirit cannon. He let go of the child, but he just stayed near him. The little boy would be a big help; Lim needed help when Korra walked up to him.

"People have been saying you're a part of that bandit group." She said in a tone that sounded like her hands were strangling Lim's throat.

"Before we talk about those lies—a side order of propaganda if things become about more than us—I just want to say nice to meet a muscular Avatar like you. What do you do with your tendons?"

Korra hoped she wasn't talking to an early Wu. Before their conversation became what Lim predicted, the boy pointed to Lim's finger. She saw a drop of water at first…it glistened gold. It could just be a trick, but it got Korra's attention. She outright didn't want to say it, but there was help she could give to him.

"Go to Republic City for a man named Varric. He will study your strange ability."

Korra left to take the free men and women to their homes. Lim could tell by how fast she moved them and her telling Isla to walk with her, he wasn't going with her. No one thanked a water bender like him even though he rescued them.

"That was an impeccable rescue on your part. I would probably have my head melted by those Avatar abilities if you hadn't stepped in. I don't have any medals for that, but here."

Lim had a necklace with a cylinder hanging from the metallic fins making the necklace. The action of giving the boy the necklace, he didn't know, meant more than his words.

XXX

Lim arrived by his own means at Republic City. He tried getting to his location riding on Cheesewire with his reins helping him lead the way. They ran into trouble stopping at an intersection in the road.

"You actually braked with a slow animal like that?" Someone daunted sticking his head out a side window while someone else drove.

Cheesewire brayed an apology out.

"I think you're a better carrier than any car here." Lim assured his friend.

Cheesewire let out his cheerful sound. Lim was sorry though there was no table or shelter for Donkey-Giraffes. He sat on the sidewalk outside Varric's house trying to think of a achievable way.

"If I can't leave Cheesewire along going into Varric's house…" Lim was in luck. There was an unused cylinder of water on a necklace in Cheesewire's pouch. "I'll bring Varric out to me."


	14. Chapter 14

**A chapter a day after the last one. It will take a few weeks though before I can write a new chapter for the story. Thank you all for your support on this fanfiction, the fandom itself is something I only watch at my aunt's cottage and I'm glad I took my time to do it.**

XXX

Lim used his birth given bending to move water out of the cylinder and move it in the air. People noticed a man bending water in Republic City now; no one was excited or angry about his bending. Lim made them awe as a dot of water came to be on his second finger, he stopped bending to touch the water and it was raised with his water changing shape for their entertainment.

Like a manager of a Mover star—someone now more famous than Bolin—the glossy hair moustache man Varric grabbed Lim's shoulders. He was trying to massage Lim's shoulders.

"I know what this boy needs. He needs the Varric outfitting expertise. He's leaving now for a show he will appear in."

Lim's Donkey-Giraffe moved in front of Varric and Lim to hide them from the crowd. Lim brought Varric's ear to him when he whispered his request of Varric finding a stable for Cheesewire. He was however split from Varric by a silent brown haired woman with glasses.

"This is my lovely wife Zhu Li. She can help you with your exotic animal." Said Varric.

"I also want you to take me to Kuvira."

All the color on Varric's face was flushed out by Lim just mentioning that monstrous woman. He had to give him some words of advice warning him how tyrannical Kuvira can be.

"I tell her not to use spirit vines to make a weapon and she chokes me with her metal bending. Don't look for her, nothing you her will be answered without her bending reaching for your throat."

"Let me see her. It's not only because she's a strong earth bender and a mighty metal bender, my explanation is menial but I have enough leverage to make you deliver me."

XXX

After riling up the crowd of people with water bending no one's ever seen, Lim and Cheesewire were flying to Wu's city on a flying machine.

"Honey, Zhu Li, do the thing." Varric said.

Zhu Li used a kitchen knife, a bowl of fruit, and a burner to make a delicious drink for the three of them. The three were Lim, Varric, and Zhu Li.

"Korra called to tell me you can make water turn gold." Varric said after drinking and getting the beverage on his moustache. "She knows I can smell talent on a person. What I want from you is a sample."

"I want Kuvira to have a deal: when people are taken, I can find where they are with her."

"The real answer is Toph!" Varric shouted.

Varric walked out of the room and came back with two plants. One was a prickly thorn and the other were orange star-shaped flowers with yellow pollen.

"One of these flowers is Kuvira and the other is Toph. I'm not normally someone trying to simplify people with flowers. The fact is I need to clarify what a short lived beautiful but painful to grab a handle on flower Kuvira is. The other flower is open and pretty to look at because it grows with age."

Lim asked Varric if his friend Cheesewire could eat the flower—to ask something like that was agitating for Varric to hear.

Lim saw a giant mountain. He soon stood on the mountain discovering the peak was really a prison. Varric was a man who preferred not to be inside a prison—in an excited stupor he admitted to being in a prison cell twice—he stayed on the flying machine while Lim approached two guards with spears.

"We'll let you in if you let a guard watch you." The guard at the left side of the gate said.

Lim walked until he saw long dirty dark hair attached to the scalp of a beautiful girl in a metal box. The box was one of the three boxes Kuvira trapped Suyin and her sons Wei and Wang; she was powerless just like them in that box. Lim gained entry into the room thanks to his permission to speak with her up close.

"I heard how you surrendered after nearly dying in the Spirit World." Lim said. His choke of words made her feel resentment towards the boy who wasn't actually there.

"If I could go back I wouldn't have started a war against Suyin, but she tried to kidnap me in my sleep. Now whatever life I have left is being punished."

Lim showed Kuvira one of his fingers. In the dark dreary room her eyes didn't see the water spinning from his finger. Without warning, the metal split open while Kuvira's body felt cool after being heated for a short time—she was placed in the metal for her meeting with Lim.

"My name is Lim. I may be a water bender, but after the one-hundred-year war I lived in a fire bending town, my original home before I was two and learned water bending from my Dad. When you were as big as Princess Azula—strong but not right in the head—I was a big fan of yours. At least I was until I heard the slave labor you put non-benders and earth benders through and the "re-education" you put fire benders and water benders in."

Kuvira's last examination after being freed were her wrists. She now looked at Lim. Lim expected a fight from her, but instead of a fight…tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry."

The guards never seen her cry. It was apparent to them all earth benders had no allegiance with her. In prison her only hope was a different bender could help her.

"Please wait." Lim bended a pike of ice he crafted on his finger. He used it to cut off clothes on his pant leg and gave it to Kuriva. "For a day, you'll be back in the earth nation helping me fight a lava bender."

Kuvira walked next to Lim back to the ship. Lim admitted to her he like many kids in the fire nation developed a love of classical music. He told her how she didn't have to apologize for anything Varric said she did in 174 AG. The door to the flying machine opened with Varric walking out.

Zhu Li was also in the opening of the door. She had Cheesewire wearing reins over his face. Cheesewire seemed to like her since the moment she was left with caring for him.

"I warn you Kuvira…there is a group of guards tasked with making sure the plane lands safely."

Kuvira looked at Zhu Li remembering the word Monster that was said to the metal bender when she tried fixing the world.

"Where are their manners? You are my guest so we should get you to bed before your eyelids wilt."

Lim helped her walk past Varric and Zhu Li. Kim expected a commanding general when she woke up. Right now, Kuvira shed a tear from Varric and Zhu Li's hostility.

"A long time ago, I had a mother who loved my father enough to fight with him on the battlefield against Unalaq's men. Although most troops led by Korra's father made it out alive…my mother died. Three years later, he had gotten remarried. If one of us dies from lava—lava spews deathly smoke—the other can tell my father how brave, we were. You won't be a prisoner who was mad with power and my another has another kid."


End file.
